Sleepless Nights
by Deception's Call
Summary: Tony would often wonder if Yinsen was proud of him. But on one evening, he sees a familiar face in his living room, a man he thought long dead.


**Hello everyone! This is my fifth Avengers fic! And thank you so much for the reviews, they motivate me to keep writing! You guys are awesome. **

**I have so many more ideas, and hopefully you guys will be there the entire way to read them :)**

**I always wondered about the aftermath of the Avengers and how Yinsen would view Tony and the changes he made to his life after Afghanistan. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers.**

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When New York sleeps and the lights are out in every window of the city, there is one that shines the brightest in the dim light under the stars.

When New York sleeps and Avengers Tower is a part of the slumber, there is only one that is awake.

When Tony Stark is alone in his lab doing anything and everything, he ponders about his life once in a while. And more often than not, he thinks about the cave in Afghanistan.

More often than not, he thinks about Yinsen.

Even now, Tony realizes one night, even after 5 years, remembering him still hurts his metal heart.

"_Don't waste your life, Stark."_

He thinks about that often, whether he's wasted his life or not. Once in a while, he thinks he hasn't, but most of the time, he thinks he has.

He's wasted more than 30 years of his life playing and messing around, and not really doing anything worthwhile other than making weapons and putting on a show in front of the cameras. Because back then, that's all he thought he was good at.

He still thinks that sometimes.

He tries not to, but it's hard.

And when Tony thinks over the years after his captivity, when he thinks over the betrayal of Obadiah Stane, the incident at the Expo, the Chitauri invasion and all of the other simpler things, he wonders if Yinsen thinks he wasted his life.

He wonders if Yinsen would be proud of him.

Sometimes, Tony daydreams about another world where Yinsen survived and became one of his most trusted confidants, where Yinsen would become part of his life with Pepper and JARVIS and Rhodey, and even the Avengers.

Now, Tony _knows _that Yinsen would like Steve. It's not really much of an issue, and Tony doesn't dwell on it too much, because he just _knows. _Yinsen would admire Steve's perseverance, his strength, his kindness and loyalty and so much more. He knows that Yinsen would treat Steve like a son.

Tony tries to ignore that Steve is everything he isn't and everything Yinsen would want him to be.

Tony _thinks _that Yinsen would like Clint, but he's not really sure if the man would approve of Clint's job.

Clint and Yinsen…it's a bit of a dodgy subject that Tony's still deliberating on.

But Tony knows that Yinsen would not like Natasha. At least, not very much. Be it her job or the red on her ledger, it just seems that their personalities would clash too much.

Natasha doesn't really care about what people think of her and she will say what she wants when she wants (unless she's undercover).

Yinsen, on the other hand, will always consider the other person's feelings.

Yinsen also doesn't like liars, and Natasha is undercover a lot.

He would however, like Thor. And even though Thor is loud and boisterous, he has a heart of gold and a gentleness about him that can't really be explained through words.

Thor loves his family, especially his brother, and believes that he has to stay loyal to his family even if they do wrong (that's why Thor begged Odin to lighten Loki's punishment for trying to invade Earth).

Yinsen is the same, and both the god of thunder and Yinsen love their families.

But Bruce, Yinsen would _love _him. Both men are genius, and both have suffered great tragedies and both are genuinely good people.

He knows that they would understand each other.

Now, even though Tony's a genius and has suffered great tragedies as well, he isn't a good person.

Sure, he's trying to make up for the lives he destroyed and the families he tore apart, but doing that will never erase what he did.

Most of the time, when he's in a room with the rest of the Avengers, he can't help but feel a little inferior (that's why he makes the snarky comments).

There's Thor, a god. Steve, a super soldier and the first superhero in the world. Natasha and Clint, master assassins. And Bruce, gamma radiation extraordinaire, genius and genuine good guy.

Then there's Tony, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist…mass murderer, selfish, narcissist.

When he's in a room with the rest of them, he can't help but think that Yinsen wouldn't take a second glance and see a man who's trying to fix his mistakes.

Because really, he's just a man who thinks that the world is too good for him.

But when Tony walks into the kitchen on one of those nights where the city is asleep, he notices a figure sitting on a chair in the living room.

Normally, Tony would freak out or call for security, but there is something strangely familiar about this person.

The man looks up, and sees Tony standing in the doorway with wide eyes.

"Yinsen?"

Tony doesn't know if he's dreaming or not, or if it's just a hallucination, but he's getting the chance to see his savior…_his friend_, again, and he finds that he really doesn't care.

"Mr. Stark, it's been a while," he smiles.

Tony chuckles breathlessly, "It definitely has."

Yinsen stands, and walks towards Tony with a smile on his face. The glint of warmth and kindness and _love_ is in his eyes.

Yinsen places his hands on Tony's shoulders, and makes note of the tears welling up in the billionaire's eyes.

"Look at you," Yinsen starts, "what a name you've made for yourself. I like this man, Mr. Stark."

Tony laughs, and blinks away the tears, "Yeah, Iron Man has definitely done a lot of things. I wouldn't be anywhere without him."

But Yinsen just shakes his head, and pats Tony's shoulders.

"No, Mr. Stark, this man, right here in front of me, I like him very much."

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**YINSEN AND TONY FEELS. I loved their relationship in Iron Man, I loved how Yinsen was like Tony's father. Really, I think Yinsen is what inspired Tony to become the hero that he is. **

**Anyway, if you like it, drop a review!**

**I take requests for Avengers ONESHOTS. **

**Thank you!**


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